I swear I don’t mean to turn this place into a Boss Fight fan site, it’s just coincidence that the last three things I’ve posted about are Boss Fight related. On the other hand, the samurai raptor and this are in top ten figure territory for me this year, so maybe it’s not all coincidence. Let’s take a look at Red Sonja!
The box is really nice with appealing graphic design, a big window up front that shows off the figure nicely, some classic Red Sonja art on the side, some clear copy that lets you know about the character, and figure photos on the back that show off the figure options. Good stuff. I almost hate to recycle it.
Red Sonja comes with a lot of stuff including three heads, two arm bands, two shoulder pads, two skirts, two gloves, three sets of hands (open, grip, and fists), one sword, one sword sheathe, an axe, a knife, knife sheathe leg strap, two leg straps, a sword belt, and a figure stand. The stand is a basic black affair with a couple of pegs and a clear, classic Red Sonja logo.
All the different clothing parts are separate pieces, so her outfit can be configured in multiple ways, but they seem intended to make a couple of specific looks, the more streamlined classic Frank Thorne Marvel look (above) or a slightly more modern style that I tend to associate with Frank Cho’s cover work for the Dynamite Red Sonja book (below). The classic gloves have that big cut-out near the top and the other gloves are similarly shaped without the cut-out.
The sculpting on the base body is perfectly statuesque for a classic Red Sonja and the clothing pieces have great detail and fit onto the mostly blank base body tightly. You can take most of the stuff off, but it will look a little weird since the feet are boots and the hands gloves.
The separate pieces gives Sonja’s outfit nice dimensionality, but can sometimes knock off while posing, so there is a slight trade off between customization and fiddliness. The skirts rest almost perfectly on the waist ball joint cut and the bra on mid-torso cut, so it’s a pretty smooth look for all that articulation. I find the more modern style skirt with the red sash can be knocked out of place by leg movement while the smaller classic one falls into place easier when disturbed.
The shoulder pads plug into a hole in the back of the figure kind of like a G.I. Joe backpack and the bra straps actually make it look a bit more of a logically sound attachment point than most G.I. Joe packs. Since they are only secured at that one point and are fairly soft plastic, they can sometimes lift a bit awkwardly when lifting the arms over Sonja’s head.
The sheathe has a little peg on the side that can plug into the circle on the classic metal bikini bottom, but it does weigh it down a bit and make the bikini lift and not rest as naturally. It’s kind of a shame because I just read an issue where she wore her sword that way, so I wanted to keep it like that. The sheathe works better with the sword belt which can also plug into the same hole on the bikini for support. I think it’s intended for the busier modern look, but works well on the classic bikini bottom as well.
The sword belt has the advantage of an included loop that fits the axe. You can also swap out the leg sheathe for a plain leg band without the sheathe if the sword is in the way. I’m not sure if the leg sheathe was meant to switch sides, but it works well on both legs. The knife is pretty classic looking and features nice metallics on the blade and handle.
The sword also features nice metallic paint, classic styling, sharp detail, and fits well in the hand. The axe also looks pretty wicked, though I worry for Sonja’s lower back getting cut up with the thing in the loop back there. Now is not the time to start questioning the logic of Sonja’s outfit, however. That’s never really made any sense.
The hands are a nice mix of useful pieces for an adventurer and I especially like that the open hands are a little bit different with one being more of a claw grip for a neck grab. The gloves have a great leathery texture that sells the material well.
The heads all have solid paint work with one serious face, one with a bit of a smirk (and earrings), and one in mid-yell. The slight smirk and yelling heads look like they have the same hair that’s in motion. I thought they were going to be able to swap hair between figures, but they are glued down.
The articulation is very nice on Sonja with excellent range of motion on the neck, mid-torso, and waist ball joints. Hasbro’s engineers need to take a look at this figure so they can fix their ball joints. The mid-torso joint can pop apart and that facilitates easy skirt swapping. The head has impressive range of motion, especially with all that hair, though looking up is not great. The neck barbell is a little bent, so you can shift the bend forward or backward to get a little bit more range of motion. The butterfly joints allow for two-handed sword grips as well.
Red Sonja has the following articulation:
- Ball and socket head, mid-torso, and waist
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Double hinged knees and elbows
- Swivel biceps and thighs (inside the thighs)
- Hinged butterfly pecs
Paint is really nice. The body is cast in a pale skin tone and the facial details are clean. The metallic paints are all bright and shiny and the metal bikini and leg bands have a wash to bring out the details.
Red Sonja scales nicely with Legends and Classified, but unfortunately she’s a little a little tall for my Mezco Conan. Looks like she would be a good match for a Mythic Legions or Savage Crucible Conan, however. Overall, I’m really pleased with this figure as a representation of the classic Marvel Red Sonja, but I do appreciate the ability to modify and switch up looks. The poseability is excellent and it’s just a handsome figure in general. I have nitpicks, but they are pretty insignificant next to the fun factor of this figure.